Little Houdini

Luke can untie his shoes like nobody's business.

Isn't the trusty parental double-knot supposed to be impervious to child mischief? It isn't!

Update: This post deserved a photo, but I couldn't catch him in action. And I didn't want to really encourage him to do it for the camera. Forgive me for this staged shot.

Day at the Park

Here are some pictures from the park from last month. I love that first one! Click here for the whole set (or the slideshow).

Financially Speaking

Hey, everybody! Take a look at Matt's new web-site:

financially-speaking.com

Matt stepped out of a very successful career at ACNielsen to pursue his dream: teaching and writing about money management. He has an amazing story to tell (read it on his site). And though aimed at a larger crowd than just Christians, he brings Biblical values and principles to bear.

Sign up for his newsletters, too.


File under truth-is-stranger-than-fiction: Matt Bell is my brother-in-law, not my brother. My sister Judy Bell married a Bell! (No relation! We checked!)

We tried to get them to hyphenate their name, but they wouldn't do it. I think Judy Bell-Bell kinda has a ring to it, don't you?

Mother's Day Challenge: Crash and Burn

Do you remember the movie Men in Black? They pull out the little pen thingy, put on their sunglasses and "click!" You don't remember a thing!

I wish I had one of those.

We put our Mother's Day Weight-Loss Challenge out for public display, so we gotta own up.

Kirsten's down some, I'm down almost nothing. We'll see how the others are doing, but the reports aren't stellar.

You have to pull the weeds before you plant the garden. I think I'm still in the weed-pulling stage, trying to lay the foundation for real weight loss and fitness. Not there yet: I'm thinking this fall for myself. I take some comfort in the fact that I've done it before.

Update: Kirsten's brother Pete is the weight-loss-challenge Hero of Heroes: he lost as much weight as all the rest of us put together, at 14 pounds. You so rock!

More Sappiness

How can one kid be so cute?

This is a silly little thing, but I like to watch his mouth when he eats. The cutest. (Ok these pictures don't do it justice.)


(P.S.: I cropped these pictures close because Luke's nose was way crusty. Too much information?)

My Normal Childhood

We wonder what Luke will remember, and how he'll be different, with us living in a high rise now. The things he'll consider normal.

A normal garage holds 200 cars and has employees.

A normal dwelling has elevators and a door staff.

A normal street is jammed with cars and buses.

A normal neighborhood has commuter trains running through it every few minutes.

A normal building has carts to get your stuff from your car to your door. And a normal kid gets to ride with the groceries.

(Kirsten shot these on her cell phone.)

UPDATE, from Nancy: A normal kid puts trash down a chute, not into cans to take to the curb.

Kevin Carey

If you like Christian music with a modern rock flavor, take a look at Kevin Carey. He and his band won UCLA's Spring Sing 2006.

You can hear his music at his myspace page: myspace.com/kevincarey. His blog is at kevincareymusic.com.

I can't tell if you can buy his album on-line yet.

Let me know what you're listening to.

Hat-tip: Hugh.

Shoo, crickets, shoo!

Do you hear crickets chirping here (like an abandoned overgrown lot)?

Ok, I've been neglecting to post for a while. Was out of town last week and trying to catch up blah blah blah excuse excuse excuse...

Aaaaaanywhoooooo, sorry I've been depriving you of your Luke-and-Kirsten fix! I know it's gotta be hard. Hang in there, and we'll be back on track soooooon.

(I taught Sydney that word: "Soon, Sydney, sooooooooon." Her response: an objecting "Woof!")